Apple replaces the black HomePod mini with a black HomePod mini

If you were hoping for new colors of the HomePod mini, Apple just announced one. But, there’s not much to get excited about. The company revealed a Midnight hue for its tiny speaker, replacing the Space Gray version that had been available since the mini debuted. So, yes, Apple replaced the black HomePod mini with another black HomePod mini that looks so similar it’s hard to tell the difference. Even in the photo below, the shadows are likely to account for some variation in the color.

However, the material for the new color, is different. Apple says the Midnight version is made with 100 percent recycled mesh fabric. All of the rest of the HomePod mini lineup, including the Space Gray option, has a cover made with 90 percent recycled plastic. Everything else about the new option is identical to the existing speaker, from the edge-to-edge illuminating touch panel to smart home controls and decent audio quality.

Aside from the higher recycled content in the mesh cover, this provided Apple an opportunity to bring the HomePod mini’s color scheme up to date with some of its other products. The regular HomePod’s black is already dubbed Midnight. What’s more, the company ditched Space Gray for Midnight when the iPhone 13 debuted. It has carried it over to the Apple Watch, but there hasn’t been a wholesale swap throughout all devices. The iPhone 15 lineup, for example, has Black Titanium and plain ol’ Black as its darkest hues.

The Midnight HomePod mini is now available to order from Apple. It will be at the company’s stores and other retailers on July 17.